Impact of Globalisation on Higher Education in China

China has over 5000 years of history, with numerous inventions which have been momentous
for the development of human history, such as the early four inventions (paper creation, gun
power, printing and compass), seismograph and intertwining techniques. Arithmetic with Nine
Chapters, which was originated in Han dynasty of Ancient Chinese history and completed in
1st century AD, includes fractional numbers, negative numbers, addition and division rules,
determinant thought etc., which were all the earliest introduction in the world. This knowledge
of natural sciences, together with ancient revolutionizing poems, essays, Confucianism and
traditional social etiquettes are all the parts of Chinese education. These remains of ancient
culture influence the individual’s generation after generation. But the advent of globalization
is breaking this recession of culture in each discipline. It makes Chinese people aware that a
long tradition of culture cannot increase the productivity; science and technology are the true
treasures. So, China began to acquire advancement from abroad, including the technological
know-hows along with western cultures, and at the same time, the universities also shifted the
focus of education from the traditional Chinese cultures to advanced science and technology.
Unfortunately, the pendulum oscillated too far, and it put a very serious threat to native unique
culture of Chinese as it is on the verge of extinction. Many Chinese universities have been
involved in the wave of globalization.

Positive Impacts of Globalization:

Modernization in every aspect of life is essential to keep pace in this scientifically developing
world. While talking about the positive impacts of globalization in Chinese education system
it is obvious that it has created more opportunities for Chinese students and teachers to study
in a different culture. We can see that globalization has shortened the distance between any two
nations, two universities and two persons (Hershock, 2010).

Secondly, higher education globalization (HEG) creates a suitable learning environment for
everyone in China. The students, who are unable to study abroad, can also learn more in their
native universities by using the internet, reading papers of overseas best writers, online teaching
etc. Professors, even if not go abroad, can update knowledge timely by learning the latest
knowledge in their field of studies and improve teaching methods by learning worldwide
through the internet or listening to reports. The government and universities also can attract to
the world’s leading scholars and organizations. As far as the ordinary peoples are concerned,
they can also take how-know about the cultures, etiquettes, habits and customs of other nations
through internet, newspaper and electronic media. In short, globalization has positioned the
peoples in an open world; people can explore and learn more than at previous opportunities.

Negative Impacts:
However, a coin has two sides; higher education globalization also has brought various
negative impacts on Chinese universities. Firstly, a part of valued national culture is
disappearing. Now the heroes on the global arena are basically those countries or group of
organizations which have developed economically and technologically. The developing
countries cannot have chance to show their cultures comprehensively and profoundly due to
their limited economic and scientific level. Some cultural rituals in ancient China have been
replaced by modern customs; some traditional social protocols have been replaced by
international etiquettes. Traditional Chinese cultures provide that younger generation should
respect their parents and grandparents, without their consent, youngsters should not sit, eat, and
leave. But now almost all parents do what their children requires. Most mature students, even
some PhD students do not read ancient books and literature with ancient font; they do not know
well about Confucius, Mencius and other outstanding ancient writers. Secondly, universities
look like enterprises because many teachers try their best to earn money not only from their
universities, but also from outsides. Some excellent teachers, such as those from school of law,
management science, engineering and so on, can gain more than salary by teaching courses
outside or cooperate with enterprises and organizations.

References:
Hershock, Peter D. (2010). Higher Education, Globalization and the Critical Emergence of
Diversity. Tsinghua Journal of Education, 31(2), 8-33.

HU Changying (2012). The Impacts of Higher Education Globalization on Chinese

Universities. Higher Education of Social Science, 3 (2), 7-13.